


Don't Run on the Bus

by JOBrien42



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 19:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30110859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JOBrien42/pseuds/JOBrien42
Summary: Based on the prompt "Don't Run on the Bus"Set after The Al Smith Dinner but before The Wedding in S7, Ronna's thoughts while watching two of her co-workers interact - and not - on a campaign bus trip.
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	Don't Run on the Bus

Ronna had been watching the two of them since “Russell’s chicken fighter” - as Matt (the Congressman, she had to keep reminding herself) would still refer to Donna - joined the campaign. There was a tension between them that charged the air, like static electricity composed of pure discomfort. But Ronna remembered vividly that cold day in New Hampshire, and the look in his eyes when he’d introduced them. There was a story there, one he’d never shared. 

But then, for all the time they’d spent in close contact in the primaries and even in the quietest, more contemplative moments, Josh Lyman had remained incredibly closed off. It struck her as a terribly lonely way to live. 

So they were on a bus now, better than the one from the primaries, but still a bus, and Josh was moving back and forth between talking to Matt, who was doing phone interviews in the back, and where Lou, Donna and Otto were gathered in the front. Their campaign manager had a frenetic energy to him that always surprised Ronna. The man might catch twenty minutes on the plane, but he’d been the first one in and last one out of the office since those early days in Nashua. He lived on coffee and energy drinks, and sometimes Ronna worried how long he could keep it up.

She wasn’t the only one worrying. She could see Donna’s eyes follow him when his attention was elsewhere, a furrow to her brow. When addressed directly, her expression would change - her posture rigid, her eyes defensive. But as soon as his attention was elsewhere, the look of concern flooded back in.

Ronna had seen a similar look on Josh’s face when Donna wasn’t looking; only for him, it was a sense of longing, and of heartbreak and fear. There was a story there, and she was quite sure it would break her own heart when she heard it.

One day Ronna would ask Donna how two people who clearly cared so much for one another had come to this.

Josh was rushing back to show Otto’s latest draft to Matt when Lou called him back with breaking results. Unfortunately, it was just then that the bus ran over a large piece of debris on the highway, jostling them all. Josh, caught in mid-turn, tried to maintain balance but found himself lurched forward and sent sprawling off one of the seats and onto the aisle floor.

Ronna watched Donna’s face. She saw her concern, and the unconscious way she reached out. But before she could act, Lou barked out a laugh. “And that’s why we don’t run on the bus.”

“That’s me, here to entertain and serve as your life lesson crash dummy.” Josh said, trying to laugh it off as he slowly got to his feet.

“Well then, dummy, see if you can make it over here without breaking anything. I need you to look this over,” Lou said, pointing at the spreadsheet on her computer screen.

While everyone was laughing at Josh’s expense, Ronna instead noticed Donna’s concern at the way he limped, ever so slightly, over to their Communication Director’s seat.

Yes, one day, when they had enough time and alcohol, Ronna was going to ask her what happened. 

In the meantime, she found herself hoping that whatever the story behind Josh and Donna, they'd eventually find their happy ending.

**Author's Note:**

> written last May as part of a Discord challenge. I love Ronna, who was the first of the Santos campaign to meet Donna, and who seemed to be pushing Josh towards Donna in Election Day.


End file.
